Ferro Cement Hulls ?

[cooper]

Hi Talbot, my boat is built with chook wire , but ,

without the chicken mesh former, but laid up inside a mould. this would allow a more fair shape, and get away from the use of rusty wire. i.e. without the chicken mesh former, but laid up inside a mould. this would allow a more fair shape, and get away from the use of rusty wire. i.e. without the chicken mesh former, but laid up inside a mould. this would allow a more fair shape, and get away from the use of rusty wire.

Was built over a timber mold. You can still see the timber lines on the inside of the hull. (and its 40 years old). 12 where built (the nutcracker) and a few more of a slightly larger version called the explorer.

[4900bruce]

hi everyone.
I have owned two fc boats,a hartley rorc32 built in 74 in auckland NZ. that boat I lived on for 5 years and single handed around the pacific for 2 years .I sold that boat in Brisbane Australia 18 years agoe.
I went up to Mooloolaba in December this year to look at the boat I now have and berthed behind the new one was my old rorc .she looked as good as the day I sold her 18 years agoe.
I have owned wooden and fiberglass boats.Both are expensive to buy and the wooden ones require non stop maintance.
I purchased my latest boat because I DONT have $150 k to spend and I want to go offshore again.
Ever been offshore in a glass boat ,I have, they are noisy down below and bounce from wave top to wave top and wooden boats work in a large sea so the bilge pump becomes your best friend.
A ferro boats weight is an advantage in offshore work.they go through the waves ,yes wet up on deck but down below things are reasonably stable and cooking ,sleeping etc is not so tiring as being thrown around in a tupperware boat.
Why build a ferro boat when there are so many good second hand ones for sale which have done the miles all ready,have all the gear that you dreamed about and can be purchased for 100k less than the same size glass boat which will have osmosis (just has not been found yet).
ferro boats do not require any maintance.eg saw a rorc 32 being slipped in auckland NZ, had been swinging on a mooring under Greenhithe bridge for 7 years,she had tentacles of muscles growing on hull 3-4 ft long.owner scraped hull ,rolled on coat of antifoul and then put boat back on mooring never to be used again.try that with a timber or glass hull.
as stated I have owned or built boats of timber ,glass and ferro and I love ferro .

[miss-m]

We have a 36' Hartley Queenslander triple bilge (Which is a stretched version of the Hartley Tahitian 33).
She is brilliant. We bought her derelict about 5 years ago, after she had been stood on the hard for 6 years and she was completely trashed. The previous owners had been in the middle of an extensive refit when the husband had suddenly died- very sad. The wife couldnt even set foot in her again.
So she really was a complete mess inside. We spent 8 months fixing her up on land and I confess I spent the entire time moaning, sulking and generally being convinced that we were spending a fortune on a concrete brick which was never going to float when she finally got in the water, and if she did float, she'd definitely never sail! You should have seen my face when she did.
Since then, we've sailed her through the Menai straits, down the irish sea, round Lands End and along the English Channel and she has been fantastic. 4 refits later, we've fixed most of the mistakes we made the first time around and also made her 2 tons lighter! (No really, we dont know how either! )
I would never ever go back to a fibreglass boat. The amount of things we have hit on our voyages has been ridiculous- floating trees, a couple of barrels, a basking shark, a few rocks (they assured me the harbour had enough water for us- it didnt!) And yet we've come through it all with barely a scratch. I might consider steel, but its noisy. Ferro is heavy, and safe and doesn't rock so much and is warm in winter and cool in summer and I am a complete convert. (Just dont tell Mr M- he likes to gloat about my lack of faith.)

My only advice to anyone to anyone looking at buying one is to either get one which has been professionally built, or do it yourself and take great care over it. There are a lot of badly built ferro boats out there- just like there are a lot of badly built wood and fibreglass and steel boats out there.

Our girl's not perfect- Id love her to be another 10ft longer with an aft cabin- but she's not half bad!

[alvinhubbcap]

F-C? - Wouldn't trust it on wet grass.

[nooksak]

Dear alvinhubbcap
Having just sailed the better part of a 1000 miles the wrong way around south America (on a ferroboat)......And just a sneaking suspision with you onboard, on part of that journey.

Are you still standing by your wet grass statement? Or what!

Love phillis
x

[AudreyK]

Originally Posted by alvinhubbcap

F-C? - Wouldn't trust it on wet grass.

Yeah they tend to fall over, should be OK in the actual water though

[cooper]

Dear alvinhubbcap
Having just sailed the better part of a 1000 miles the wrong way around south America (on a ferroboat)......And just a sneaking suspision with you onboard, on part of that journey.

Are you still standing by your wet grass statement? Or what!

Love phillis
x

This I love lots.... can you verify ???? Phillis top post...who is that masked (anti fc) man...
Depending on the circumstances I would trust something on dry grass even less : )

except for some noble bovine...

[nooksak]

Hey cooper
So what would you like me to verify the journey! Scouts honour was a tremendous adventure of two and a half months of patagonian channels time...Not nearly long enough!
As for the 'incredible masked ferro man' am afraid till alvin coughs the goods on his true feelings (get in touch with yourself man)he will have to remain as he is. That being; in the shadow of the floating footpath.

We await the hub's response.
besos phillisx

[cooper]

....what ? he chooses to scorn the stability of walking 'the way of the floating footpath'. He has stepped off into the gutter ?.......He must learn that 'the way of the floating footpath' is safe as long as he dosnt stand on the cracks.....

[Alan Wheeler]

F-C? - Wouldn't trust it on wet grass.

Now this is an obvious troll. However, it has to be the most stupidest comment I have ever heard, that instead of me removing it, I am going to let it stand as testiment to the obvious lack of any understanding you have.

[4900bruce]

I have just returned from a month away on my ferro samson designed boat.I tryed to go from Sydney to New caledonia which I have done before.This time on the 30 may 60 miles east of stradbroke seamount I was hit by wind and seas that in 40 years of sailing I have never seen before.hydrolic autpilot sheared a 12 mm ss bolt ,wind vane steering shaft has 1.5 in ss tube with 1.25 in ss tube inside that bent like it was spagheti.hove to the boat was surfing side ways down the breaking swells at 2.5 knots (gps recorded).
I just returned to pittwater sunday morn 22.6.08 in gale force conditions on the nose as forcast by the met office and boat survived to sail another day.
I did not see any of the ferro knockers out there the whole time I was surviving the elements.I did see them hidding in coffs harbour.It is a shame the ferro knockers dont have any faith in there own boats.
like the ferro knockers I would not go to sea in a fiberglass boat .the glass boats are the ones that get knocked down .rolled 360 degress and pitch poled or the keels fall off in any wind above 30 knots .Never heard that happening with a ferro boat.

[Alan Wheeler]

Wow, bit of a drama Bruce. Good story mate.

[mudnut]

Originally Posted by alvinhubbcap

F-C? - Wouldn't trust it on wet grass.

Now I might be wrong here,but if this person has spent time on an FC,then maybe the statement was "Off-set".I personly wouldn't trust a lot of things on wet grass,any boat being one.

From what this person hasen't said,I gather said person,means,"I would trust them anywhere else.as long as it was in water!"

Nudmut.....

[cooper]

oy...Nudmut...what ya been dooen...missen in action mate....gota boat yet ?? At this rate I will have my boat finished before you get one. I aint coming to pick you up.!! Its meet on the water or nuthin..

[eyschulman]

Structural arguments aside so whats the resale market like?????